When You're Gone
by Indie.xo
Summary: When Seth's imprint dies, he is left feeling like he has nothing. An innocent mistake causes him to meet Liana, and Seth tries to be happy for her sake, but something is still missing - his everything. Rated T...for now...
1. Not Every Werewolf Has A Happy Ending

**Hey everyone! I said this would be up soon, and here it is! I've got the next couple of chapters ready to go (one of the few benefits of getting the day off school), so there should be relatively quick updates, for the first few chapters at least.**

**I would HIGHLY recommend that you read my collection of short stories 'The Seven Unnamed Werewolves' before reading this. Only one of the stories has been posted so far, but it WILL help you to understand what happens later on in this, as some of the characters mentioned in here won't really get an introduction. As I post more of the one-shots, I will let you know via AN's if you need to read them in order to follow this.**

**Lena - I apologise in advance for any pain, emotionally or physically, that this story may or may not put Seth through.**

**Love Indie :)**

"_Do you see how much I need you right now?_

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_When you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too"_

_- When You're Gone, Avril Lavigne_

xxx

Chapter One – Not Every Werewolf Has A Happy Ending

I watched in silence as the pure white coffin was lowered into the ground. Around me, the rest of the pack and their imprints had tears running down their faces. I should have been crying with them, but I couldn't. I was numb. The only person, the only thing, keeping me alive and fuctioning was gone. Gravity and a heartbeat still tried my body to the earth, but my soul had died. It was not six feet under the ground in a white, wooden coffin.

I heard a voice utter some words that I could not make sense of. Everyone began to move towards a door. I knew that I was meant to join them, but my body refused to move. Within a few minutes, the graveyard was empty. My feet, which had previously been stuck to the ground, carried me to the tombstone which I made the mistake of reading:

Alyson Renee Jacobs

2nd March 1994 – 29th January 2012

R.I.P

I wasn't numb any more. My brain expolded with rage, fear and grief. I howled, phasing before I had the chance to control myself. Curling up on the freshly-turned gravesite, I buried my head in my fur. After a few deep, panting breaths my mind became blank. I closed my eyes, savouring the numbness.

I heard a voice calling an undistinguishable word. After a few minutes, the voice called again. This time, I heard my name. I covered my head with my paws. My head wanted to respond, but my heart didn't agree. What was the point? Whoever was calling me would just want to talk about it and pretend to understand. They wouldn't understand. No-one cold. My imprint – my everything – was gone, and there wasn't a damn thing that anyone could do about it.

_I know, Seth. _Jacob's voice pierced my numbness. _And I know this probably means nothing to you, but I'm sorry._

_Go away Jake. I don't need you._

_I'll leave, if that's what you want. But remember, I'm here if you need anything._

I whimpered. _Thanks Jake._

_No probs. Just one last thing – go home before you phase back, there's not much lef of your pants. _I looked at the ground, which was scattered with shreds of black material. Jake chuckled as he phased back to his human form.

xxx

_Knock knock knock._

I pulled the blanket over my head.

_Knock knock knock._

"Seth?" The voice paused. "Seth? Can I come in?"

I buried myself further under the blankets.

"Seth! Let me in!"

"Go away, Leah!"

"Seth, if you don't let me in, I guess I'll just have to do it myself!"

There was no other option. I jumped out of the window and into a bush less than a second before Leah pushed by bedroom door open. I held my breath as I heard her footsteps move closer to the window. Just before she reached it, I army-crawled out from the bush to the other side of the house. There I phased, and ran.

I ran so fast that I couldn't see where I was going. All I knew was that I was escaping – escaping from humanity, from La Push, from anything that reminded me of _her_. I narrowly missed a few trees, but I probably wouldn't have noticed if I didn't miss. Thanks to my numbness and super-fast healing, I certainly wouldn't have felt anything.

I felt something wet hit my fur. While still running, I looked up. Rain was starting to fall from the grey sky. I whimpered – I HATE the rain! I found a huge tree that blocked out most of the water and curled up beneath it to wait for the storm to end. Even though I was numb, I certainly wasn't immune to the flu.

xxx

**Please review & let me know what you think!**


	2. What Could Have Been

**Just a quick AN, there's not alot to say really.**

**I've got another few chapters ready to type, but this is definitely my favourite one so far, so reviews would be much appreciated :)**

**And, my apologies that the chapters are so short, but there should be a lot of them!**

**I x**

Chapter Two – What Could Have Been

I yawned, shaking the leaves from my fur. I started to run towards Aly's house – I was going to surprise her for her eighteenth birthday. Around my neck was the leather pouch that I always wore, but it was heaver than normal today. For the past week I had used it to carry Aly's birthday present – I felt like it wasn't safe when it was away from my body.

The forest began to thin out. Using a thick oak tree as a barrier between myself and the road, I phased back into my human form. I put on my best shirt and jeans, which had been carefully folded and tied to my leg. I patted my pouch to make sure that Aly's present was still inside. Satisfied, I jogged into the town.

By the time I reached Aly's house, the sun was just visible over the outline of the forest. I jumped the fence, clearing it easily and landing on my feet in the moist grass. I walked across the back yard to the other side of the house. Aly's window, as always, was open just enough for me to climb through it.

Inside, her bedroom was spotless. I couldn't help but laugh. Only Aly would have a perfectly made bed and tidy room by six o'clock in the morning of her eighteenth birthday! I sat on the end of her bed, waiting for her to come back. After fifteen minutes of waiting, I started to feel tired. _A quick nap won't hurt_, I decided. _I'll wake up when Aly comes back._

xxx

The familiar sound of Aly's door creaking open woke me from my not-so-refreshing nap. Through my half-opened eyes, I saw Aly's blurred outline move from the doorway to the bed. I pulled the blankets off me as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Seth?"

I pulled her into a tight embrace. "Happy birthday beautiful." I whispered in her ear, before kissing her on the cheek. "I've got a surprise for you."

"Seth…"

I nuzzled my head against her neck. "Whatever you want to do today, I'll do it. Dinner and a movie tonight – your choice."

"Seth, liste-"

"But I've got something else for you as well. Close your eyes, no peeking!" I kissed her on the lips and pulled a small velvet box from my leather pouch.

"Uhhh.."

I opened the box, revealing a gold ring. "Aly Renee Jacobs, I love you with all my heart. You are my everything, for now and forever. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Seth! I'm…uh…I'm not Aly."

I blinked my eyes a few times rapidly, and the figure in front of me came into focus. The girl, upon first glace, certainly looked like Aly. They had the same straight black hair, pale skin and full lips. Then I looked closer, and realised that there was no way on earth that this girl could be Aly. For starters, this girl had bright blue eyes and perfect teeth – Aly had grey eyes and braces. I closed the box holding the ring and let it drop onto the bed.

I narrowed my eyes, confused. "Who are you."

"I'm Liana – Aly's cousin." She smiled sadly. "I take it that you are – were – Aly's boyfriend?"

I nodded, not bothering to elaborate. Wait – _were?_ I shrugged it off, thinking it was just a mistake. Liana's cheeks turned bright red. "I'm so sorry," she murmured. _Sorry for what?_ I thought. I looked at her eyes. They were red – she had been crying.

I felt tears start to form in my eyes. For some reason, seeing her pain brought back my own. I couldn't stand to be around her, and so I did the first thing that came to mind. I ran.

xxx

Back in the forest, I felt safe. Somehow, my wolf body protected me from everything. That is, everything but the memories.

I had been living like this – almost entirely as a wolf – for almost a month, and the memories still wouldn't go away. During the day, it was fine. Too much time was taken up by hunting and evading the pack for the memories to invade my mind. However, after the sunset was a different matter.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw everything that I wanted to forget the most. Her face, pale and sleep-deprived. Her body, hooked up to more tubes than I had ever seen in my life. _Her coffin_.

I tried everything. I howled, I paced, I hunted, I slept, I did nothing at all. No matter what I tried, nothing could stop the darkness from haunting me. My body became tired. Fighting the visions was draining everything that I had, emotionally and physically.

I hated to admit it, but I needed help, and the only way that I was going to get it was by going home.

xxx


	3. Memories Never Fade

**Hey!**

**I'm not sure how frequently I'm going to be updating over the next week or so,**

**I've got exams and all that sort of stuff coming up. I'll try to post as often as I can though!**

**Im going to ask a favour of everyone - I've been getting a lot of hits to this story, but no reviews! So,**

**if you could even just leave a review every couple of chapters to let me know what you think it would be appreciated!**

**Love Indie xo**

Chapter Three – Memories Never Fade

"Seth? Come for a walk with me."

"I don't know if that's a good idea, baby."

"Please, Seth?" She opened her eyes wide, begging me.

"Okay then." I reached over the bed, and easily scooped Aly's frail body into my arms. Carefully, I kissed her lips as I lowered her into her wheelchair. "Where do you want to go?"

"The rose gardens?" Her voice was weak and tired already. I dropped to my knees beside her and squeezed her hand.

"Aly, are you sure you want to do this?" She nodded, only half-awake.

Against my better judgement, I did what she asked. With one hand on Aly's shoulder, I pushed her out to the gardens. As soon as we were out of view of the hospital staff, Aly stopped me. "Seth? Can I walk for a bit?"

This time, I didn't bother resisting. "Sure, beautiful."

Aly tried to stand, but her legs were too weak to support her body and she collapsed back into the chair. Before she could try again, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to her feet. She smiled shakily. Leaving one arm around her waist, we walked slowly through the gardens.

It killed me to see her like that. She used to be so active, and now I could feel her shake more with every step that she took. Every second I spent with her, the pain in my heart grew a little bit more.

I became aware of the fact that Aly had stopped walking and was leaning against my chest. Her breathing was rapid and irregular. "Can we take a break?"

I lifted her up and carried her to a wooden bench. I sat Aly on it before sitting myself. She leant over, using my chest as a pillow. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her.

Something was wrong. Her heart rate slowed and mine sped up. Aly slowly, carefully, looked up at me. "You know I love you, don't you?"

"Of course I do." I kissed her on the forehead. By this stage, her heartbeat was so slow that no human would have been able to hear it. "And I love you too."

She was gone.

xxx

I howled. Somewhere in the distance, I heard two wolves echo my howls. They started to run in my direction.

_Cut it out, Seth. I know you love me and all, but sharing isn't always caring. Keep your memories to yourself._

_CHASE! Shut it!_ I heard Jake growl. _Just ignore him, Seth. You know he can't help being nasty._

The snarl and thoughts that followed implied that Chase thought he had perfect control over his thoughts.

_Don't worry about it, Jake. _I started to run. _I'm going now, Mum will be wondering where I am._

_bye-bye wussy-boy, hope your mummy isn't _too _worried about her baby Sethy._

Jake growled. _Seeya Seth. I'll get him back for you. _The loud yelps and 'crunching' noise that follwed suggested that Jake took great pleasure in doing so. I ran faster, not wanting to be dragged into Chase's 'punishment'.

xxx

I pushed my hair out of my eyes and walked inside. Mum was sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the TV. I tried to sneak past her, hoping for some quiet before I had to face her, but I had no such luck. "Seth?" Her voice was wary and her eyes were red. She walked towards me, as if to hug me, but she froze at the last second. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

xxx


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